In the wake of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s debacle in the Delhi Assembly elections in February this year, its Delhi-based central leadership — including AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia — appears to have turned all its attention to Punjab, currently the lone party-ruled state.The AAP leadership’s pivot has been attributed to its bid to consolidate the party in Punjab in the run-up to the 2027 Assembly polls. However, this strategy seems to have backfired, with the AAP’s Punjab unit reeling from various rows allegedly caused by its Delhi leadership’s “back-seat driving” in organisational and governance matters.AdvertisementWhile having been in the line of the Opposition’s fire for being “remote-controlled” by the Delhi AAP brass, the Punjab party unit has also seen growing unease among a section of its leaders and ministers over the perceived “power shift”.Some Punjab AAP insiders claimed that they have even deliberated on the “long-term political consequences of the Delhi party leaders’s move to camp in the state on a sustained basis”.Senior AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who had been been out on bail in the excise policy case since August 2024, has been spending a lot of time in Punjab as the party’s state in-charge, advising the party dispensation led by CM Bhagwant Mann on political and policy matters.AdvertisementAnother ex-Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, the AAP’s Punjab co-incharge, who spent about one-and-a-half years in jail on corruption charges before being released on bail in October 2024, has also been camping in Punjab for months, often holding meetings with party leaders, ministers and bureaucrats on various issues.Both Sisodia and Jain have been staying in Punjab government houses in Chandigarh. Even ex-Delhi CM Kejriwal has been visiting Punjab frequently, attending a few events every month. During these visits, he is given accommodation in “Vikas Bhavan”, the rural development department’s guest house in Mohali.A major instance of the alleged “overreach” of the Delhi AAP leaders was seen in the now-scrapped land pooling policy of the Mann government, party sources said.The policy, under which over 40,000 acres of land was to be acquired for developing urban infrastructure projects and townships across Punjab, was said to be “pushed” by Sisodia and Jain, sources said, adding that CM Mann had his “reservations” about it before its announcement on May 14.The policy triggered an immediate backlash, especially from a large section of farmers and landowners, who saw it as an alleged attempt to “grab land in the garb of planned development”.The AAP leadership initially tried its best to make the policy work. It was amended on June 4 and July 25 to make it more lucrative for the landowners.On July 20, Jain held a meeting in Chandigarh of the AAP MLAs from belts where lands were identified for pooling and subsequent development, asking them to ramp up public outreach to address their concerns and “change the narrative”, sources said. The meeting was also attended by state AAP president Aman Arora, housing minister Hardeep Singh Mundian, and another minister Sanjeev Arora. “Many MLAs tried to reach out to protesters but faced resistance. Then, others did not make attempts. The larger opinion within the party was also against this policy,” sources said.On August 8, the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed the land pooling policy till September 10, flagging multiple legal and procedural flaws — from the absence of environmental and social impact assessments to the lack of timelines, grievance redressal and budgetary clarity.On August 11, the Mann government finally buckled under pressure and withdrew the policy.Amid the policy controversy, CM Mann and Kejriwal faced poor attendance at a government event held in Punjab’s Sunam on July 31 to pay tributes to Shaheed Udham Singh on his 86th martyrdom day.Sisodia also landed the Punjab AAP in a spot on August 13, when he told a meeting of the party’s women wing in Mohali that “2027 ka chunaav jitvaane ke liye, saam, daam, dand, bhed, sach, jhooth, question, answer, laraai, jhagda jo karna padega karenge… taiyyar hain josh ke saath? (To win the 2027 elections, we will do whatever it takes — saam, daam, dand, bhed, truth, lies, question, answer, fights… Are you ready?). While Mann was present at the event, Kejriwal joined it through video link.Sisodia’s remarks triggered fireworks from the Opposition, including the Congress, BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which demanded criminal proceedings against him besides seeking the Election Commission (EC)’s action against the AAP. This led to the Punjab AAP distancing itself from Sisodia’s comment, with Aman Arora calling it his “personal opinion” and iterating the party’s commitment to “clean, transparent politics”.Former Punjab AAP spokesman Iqbal Singh, who quit the party to join the new SAD faction led by Harpreet Singh, flagged the Delhi AAP leadership’s “excessive interference”, saying “The message from people is very clear: Delhi, step back.”Speaking to The Indian Express, Iqbal alleged, “I spoke for the Punjab AAP as its spokesperson for 10 years. We wanted badlaav in the state. The AAP leadership claimed they would empower the people, but grabbed power for themselves. After Delhi defeat, they tightened grip on Punjab unit, giving some significant government posts to leaders from Delhi. We just wanted an honest government for the state which had been looted by other parties. But, when this dream was shattered, I quit the AAP.”most readSeveral AAP insiders noted that despite being in power in Punjab with an overwhelming majority since March 2022, the Mann government has been widely seen to be playing “second fiddle” to the Delhi party brass. They pointed out that the Opposition has always raked up this issue to corner the party in Punjab.“Although the AAP is the main Opposition in Delhi, it seems to be missing in action there. Our leadership should work on regaining ground in Delhi and let Punjab unit handle its affairs,” said an AAP leader.When asked for comment on the issue, Punjab AAP spokesman Neel Garg told The Indian Express: “There is no interference of anyone in the Punjab government affairs. If anybody is saying that, it is baseless. The government is being run under the leadership of the state’s elected Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. As far as the AAP organisation is concerned, we are a national party. Whenever a party has to contest an election, a strategy has to be formed. All senior leaders’ experiences are required to go to an election. Any other talk about their interference in the government is baseless.”